A familiar foe awaited the Albury Sharks in the quarter final of the Cup. Farncombe Youth Warriors had been a regular fixture when they had been playing small sided matches, however we had not played them in many seasons. Nevertheless Farncombe teams are always well coached and we knew it would be a tough local derby. As Farncombe play two divisions above the Albury Sharks, it was also one of the rare occasions where the Sharks were not favourites to win. Before the game, we spoke about the fact that this was going to be won by the team with the stronger mentality and rather than fearing our lofty opponents, the Sharks needed to believe in themselves, and relax into the fact that Farncombe were the team expecting to win. They boys were certainly up for it, but how would they cope against much tougher opposition?

This was one of the hardest starting elevens to decide upon. Harvey and Monty started at full-back, while Josh Franklin partnered Gabe Fitzgerald at centre-back in front of goalkeeper Dexter Williams. Daniel McGraw was given the job of sitting in front of the defence allowing Captain Ben Gregory and Daniel Stovold to push further forward. Former Farncombe player Luciano Gouveia started on the left wing, with Josh Smith starting on the right. Daniel Egbe, in very fine form, led the line.

Farncombe started very well, and unusually, Albury saw very little of the ball in the first ten minutes. I don't remember a game where Albury did not start by controlling the possession, so it was interesting to watch how they would react. Farncome had some skillful, strong and quick players in their midfield, and for a while, Albury looked slightly overrun. The tone was set by Monty Byrne who suddenly found himself being run at by one of Farncombe best players. Standing tall he did what he always does so well, delayed the attacker, and they cleanly dispossessed him with an outstanding slide tackle. That tackle gave all the Albury players the impetus to get stuck into the game and Farncombe finally had a battle on their hands.

For all of their possession, the Albury back line did brilliantly to deprive the Farncombe team of anything other than snap-shots and Dexter Williams was a match to all of them. Josh Franklin and Gabe used their pace and strength excellently and the Farncombe players never had more than a second on the ball before their space and time were squeezed by a blue and white shirt. Monty Byrne made several more outstanding challenges to keep the ball away from the danger zone. One Farncombe corner was delivered well to the edge of the six yard box where it was stabbed goalwards but a quick reaction from Dexter meant that the danger was snuffed out.

At the other end, Albury were beginning to show signs of life although they still were not controlling the possession. Daniel Egbe did excellently to control the ball under pressure and turn his man, but could not quite get his shot off. On the right hand side, Josh Smith did well to combine with Daniel Stovold and fire a shot goalwards but it didn't quite have the power to beat the goalkeeper. Daniel Egbe did brilliantly once agin to turn his man but his little flicked pass to Daniel Stovold was just snuffed out by a defender.

We knew that we needed to steal Farncombe's grip over the middle of the pitch so we made a slight tactical shift. "el Torro" was introduced to the midfield field three, pushing Daniel Stovold out to the left hand side and Noah Davies went on the right hand side. The impact was sudden. Ivan was immediately in the thick of the action, hassling and harrying the Farncombe midfield and giving them no time at all. He is strong and fearless, and was making sure that he won all of his duels. On the right hand side, Noah Davies was also up for a battle, taking on the full-backs and forcing them to double up on him. This resulted in more space for the other attackers, and Daniel Egbe and Daniel Stovold combined nicely on the left hand side to run at the Farncombe defence, forcing the first corners. Albury's best chance from the first half came to Ivan Iduriaga who met a cross brilliantly on the half volley which was flying in before the Goalkeeper claimed it well.

The Sharks had wrestled control back, but went in at half time level.

Half Time:
Albury 0-0 Farncombe

The second half saw some changes. Harry Connolly went in at right back, allowing Harvey Rush to push further forward, and Ali Jennis partnered Gabe at centre back. The Farncombe right back had coped with our wingers well so we moved Josh Franklin to left-wing to give him a bit of a fright. Farncombe had definitely edged the first half but in the second, Albury were definitely the better team. Our attack was sharper and more challenging to the Farncombe back line and the intensity of the press was causing Farncombe all sorts of problems. Daniel Egbe was giving them all sorts of headaches and did excellently to collect the ball on the half way line and then smash through several defenders, just being halted before pulling the trigger. Harvey Rush was looking lively on the right and was combining excellently with Harry Connolly to put crosses into the box. One superb cross made it's way to Daniel Egbe who couldn't quite get his finish on target.

The battle was fantastic. Monty Byrne was winning every single challenge, and Farncombe's best player, no playing centrally, was having no luck against Gabe and Ali. This reliable duo simply did not give Farncombe a sniff, and it meant that most of the football was played in the Farncombe half. Ben Gregory was a terrier out of possession, combining brilliantly with Ivan to win the ball back in the middle third. I was so proud of this because Albury very rarely have to play in this way, but the work rate off the ball today was immense.

As the half wore on, the Sharks looked the most likely to score. Harvey Rush broke through on the right hand side only to be scythed down by the Farncombe defender who was rightly cautioned. On the left hand side, Josh Smith was in an almighty tussle with the Farncombe right back, forcing him into mistakes. A corner was swung in beautifully by Josh Smith and was met superbly in the air by Daniel Stovold. His header jsut flashed wide of goal, just evading Ali jennis who was prowling near by.

And then, with only seconds to go, Farncombe produced the best chance of the game, forcing Dexter into a fantastic save. The chance not gone, it pin-balled around the area before being put into the side netting. A real let off as the final whistle blew!

To even be in this position against a teram two divisions above was an achievement, but the Sharks found themselves deadlocked.

Full Time:
Albury 0-0 Farncombe

Penalties can be so cruel. Two seasons ago, Albury were crushed by a cruel and undeserved defeat in a penalty shootout. But experience pays and if I am honest, the players looked so calm as we gathered them. rather than shying from responsibility, we had so many keen penalty takers and even had to turn some away.

Farncome penalty #1- Cooly despatched to Dexter's right.
FYFC 1-0 Sharks
Albury penalty #1- The goalkeeper got a hand to Harvey Rush's penalty but couldn't keep it out.
FYFC 1-1 Sharks
Farncombe penalty #2- Brilliantly saved by Dexter Williams!
FYFC 1-1 Sharks
Albury penalty #2- Top right hand corner found by Mr. Chill, Luciano Gouveia (He never misses!)
FYFC 1-2 Sharks
Farncombe penalty #3- High and wide!
FYFC 1-2 Sharks
Albury Penalty #3- Daniel Stovold curls into the top left corner
FYFC 1-3 Sharks
Farncombe Penalty #4- Hit the left hand post (Dexter went the right way and would have saved it anyway)

Game over- Sharks were through!

Paul's man of the Match: Monty Byrne was unbelievable today. His tackling was exceptional and really buoyed the rest of the team.
Harry's Man of the Match: Gabe was an absolute rock. Farncombe had some talented attackers but Gabe didn't give them an inch.
Captain's Man of the Match: Dexter Williams was Ben's pick today for his penalty heroics.

Coaches reflections:
1. I was quietly confident about today but was also aware that today could have been our first defeat in almost two years. On paper we were the underdogs, and at the first few minutes, it looked like it could be a tough game. But these boys are mentality monsters and their run continues. I am so proud of them for the way that they all dug deep today.
2. This was a brilliant team performance, all of them worked so hard. It's so much harder to play football when you don't dominate possession but Albury were fantastic at this today and really frustrated Farncombe, who had been expecting an easy win.
3. I have to credit the team mentality of the squad. Some players played abit less than others today simply because tactically we had to keep things steady. They would have every reason to be frustrated with Paul and I, but instead were supporting their team and cheering every success. I am so proud of them for that and they cannot underestimate their value to this team.
4. Penalty Shootouts require nerves of steal so well done to our takers, Harvey, Daniel and Luciano for doing the business. And of course, Dexter Williams, who made a brilliant penalty save.
4. Monty Byrne- what a player!

I'll leave it at that. Semi-finals await!